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Photo 1 The Regime on HBO/Max (Kate Winslet / Photo HBO), Photo 2 Hugh Grant (Photo Miya Mizuno, HBO), Photo 3 Kate Winslet (Photo HBO)

THE REGIME

  • By KENNE HOFFMAN

Deception, political intrigue, and illicit affairs. No, not in Washington, DC — in HBO’s latest original limited series The Regime. The show depicts a year within the palace of a crumbling authoritarian regime. The location is a play on a lot of countries, be it Russia, North Korea, of maybe even the United States. Viewers can decide for themselves.

After not leaving the palace for quite some time, Chancellor Elena Vernham (Academy and Emmy Award-winner Kate Winslet) becomes increasingly paranoid and unstable and turns to a recently disgraced soldier, Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts), for solace and reassurance. His influence over Elena grows, and her attempts to expand her power eventually result in the palace and the country fracturing around her.

Zubak’s first, ludicrous assignment is to indulge Elena’s hypochondria by walking in front of her with a device measuring moisture in the air (because she’s convinced the palace is full of black mold). She has political rivals investigated, arrested, and hauled off to prison. She plots to invade a neighboring country, claiming it was hers all along. There’s an air of Eva Peron in her glam blonde look and her balcony speeches to what she is convinced is an adoring public. She surveils ordinary citizens. She masquerades as a populist, giving an address while standing in a field to show her connection to farmers. She manipulates the media and spouts blatant lies. Sound familiar? Elena doesn’t resemble one specific world leader but rather an amalgamation of many. Winslet makes playing this character look effortless (doesn’t she always?) as she portrays a woman who believes her own lies and delusions. In her mind, she deserves to be dictator. She addresses her subjects as “my loves” and talks to her dead father, the founder of their right-wing political party, who is preserved in a glass coffin like Snow White.

The show was created by Will Tracy, who co-wrote the satirical films The Menu and The Death of Stalin. With music by the Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel), the cast also features Martha Plimpton, Hugh Grant, Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Danny Webb, Henry Goodman, David Bamber, Pippa Haywood, Rory Keenan, and Stanley Townsend. Directing duties are shared between Stephen Frears (The Grifters, The Queen, State of the Union) and Jessica Hobbs. The Regime premiered March 3 on HBO and MAX. The remaining episodes will air weekly on Sunday at 9pm. 

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